Horse Books for Summer Reading

Summer is finally here, woo-hoo! Besides spending quality time at the barn with your significant horse other, what could be better than hunkering down at the pool or escaping to the mountains with a good horse book? Now that school’s out and the pace has slowed a bit, I’m in the middle of several horse books. I can’t read just one at a time (maybe you’re a bit of an ADD reader too)! If you’re looking for a summer reading list of horse books, look no further. Here are my top picks.

(This post contains affiliate links which means if you click through and make a purchase, I will get a small commission. Thank you in advance for supporting my horse Knight’s carrot fund!)

Unrelenting. The man, the myth, the legend George Morris opens up and shares his life story with co-author Karen Robertson Terry. In addition to detailing his start with horses as a boy and his early struggles with riding confidence (can you believe it?!?) he discloses very personal details about his family and relationships through the years. There are myriad old timey pictures and reading this book is a history lesson on horse showing in the United States, and the drama will hold your interest for 560 pages. (Update February 2020: Although George has been permanently banned from horse sports, and I do not condone his actions, this book is still interesting as basically a history lesson. If you have strong anti-George feelings, then the book by publisher Trafalgar Square Books is probably not for you.)

The Last Chance Mustang by Mitchell Bornstein. This story is about an attorney by day, troubled horse trainer by night (and weekend) who befriends an abused and physically scarred Mustang named Samson. The writing style uses sensory detail and I can visualize the scenes as though they are happening right in front of me. The setting for this story takes place on an old dairy farm in McHenry, Illinois which incidentally is very close to where I grew up.

Cant get enough horse books? Read this blog post with 20 title recommendations. 

Woven throughout the tale of Samson is the saga of the American Mustang through the decades. Some of the information on how our wild horses have been “taken care of” by the BLM and ranchers is cringe-worthy. You will be more educated on Mustangs and probably want to adopt one. 

By the way, I’m listening to The Last Chance Mustang on Audible which is Amazon’s audio book service. I have been using this for the last couple of years and LOVE it! 

Horses Adored and Men Endured by yours truly. Read my tales of lame men and gentlemanly steeds in what I believe is the world’s first horse lover’s dating memoir.

The Eighty Dollar Champion by New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Letts. If you are a fan of underdog horses and humans, you’ll adore this book. I cried when I finished it because it was such a beautiful story, and I didn’t want it to be over. I felt like I had developed a friendship with Snowman, the rescued plow horse who turned into a Grand Prix jumper, and when I read the last sentence, my relationship was over. The good news is there is another book coming about by the same author which already has me captivated and leads me to number four. And the other good news if you are a lover of model horses, there’s a Snowman Breyer.

The Perfect Horse: The Daring U. S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis by Elizabeth Letts. The book doesn’t come out until August 23 but you can pre-order it on Amazon. Meanwhile, enjoy this book trailer (with perfect Beethoven background music).

Half-Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel by Jeannette Walls. Walls, another New York Times best-selling author is probably best known for her survival memoir The Glass Castle. Despite the name, Half-Broke Horses is it not overly horsey, but paints a picture of Walls’ grandmother’s coming of age in what really was the Old West.

One of the most memorable scenes was when the teenage version of Walls’ grandmother decided to teach school 500 miles away and she rode a horse by herself across the desert from home to her school (and I thought my commute of 40 miles in a car with air conditioning was bad). I was impressed with just how tough and spirited the women of the West were/are! This is an intense book that will keep you turning the pages.

The Horse of My Heart by Callie Grant Smith. To counter the intensity of Half-Broke Horses, read this collection of sweet horse tales. One story was about a little girl who loved horses but was too young to work around them or ride so she read books to the horses at a local stable from the opposite side of the fence until she was old enough to be with the horses. And there was a story I identified with completely about the girl who couldn’t afford a horse but rode other people’s horses while saving money to buy her own. After college, right before a big move, during a job search, she finally bought a horse. Although to many, the timing might have been questionable, her new horse was a constant during her life’s big transitions.

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Your Turn to Comment: What books are on your summer reading list? Please share your picks in the comments section. I love word-of-mouth  recommendations on horse books.

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